


My Songbird

by PhantomGrimalkin



Series: Mark of Fate [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Slow Build, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-05
Updated: 2015-01-05
Packaged: 2018-03-05 13:23:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3121757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomGrimalkin/pseuds/PhantomGrimalkin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fate seems inclined to push Phil Coulson and his soulmate together just long enough to pull them back apart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Songbird

Phil had never been the kind to go to bars, but they'd graduated and his friends insisted on celebrating. He was willing to oblige, and was relieved to see they'd chosen a fairly quiet place. The atmosphere was cozy and the bartender gave them appetizers on the house when they said why they were there. It was actually an enjoyable evening, full of laughter and optimism about what life held.

When he went up to the bar to order the next round of drinks, he found himself standing next to a woman who was glancing at a group of people at the other side of the room. She was about his age with long brown hair and green eyes that he found himself not wanting to look away from. When she noticed him, she gave him a small smile.

“Are you here on your own?” he asked, all thoughts of waving over the bartender forgotten.

She shook her head and gestured to the group she'd been glancing at. A group of young women who were dancing together, a few had splintered off to talk to the group of Phil's friends. “I don't really come to this sort of place, but they convinced me to.”

“Same,” Phil said, and this time the smile she gave him was genuine. “I'm glad they did.”

She gave him an odd look then smiled, offering her hand, “I'm Cadence.”

Phil went to take it, then froze with his hand in mid-air. He stared at the out-stretched hand and the outline of a bird etched on it. She raised her eyebrows at him then looked down at her hand.

“Oh, right, my song-bird,” she said with a nervous laugh. “I know, it's not usual to see them in such an obvious place.”

“It's not,” Phil agreed, taking her hand delicately and looking into her eyes. He knew that mark, it was the same one that was on his upper arm. After a long moment he finally said, “I'm Phil.”

They fell into an easy conversation. Both groups of friends noticed it and gave them their space, until the bartender announced last call.

Cadence looked up at the time and sighed, “I wish we'd met sooner...”

“So do I,” Phil agreed quietly.

“I'm moving across the country in a week,” She said quietly, “I'm starting my post-grad in Pasadena and arranged to move there early.”

“I'm flying to DC tomorrow,” Phil admitted just as quietly. Briefly, he considered showering her his own mark. If she knew they were meant to be together, maybe they could make it work. He knew he couldn't. Phil wasn't ready to give up his own opportunities, and he could never ask her to, either.

They both sat at the bar for a long moment. Although the noise around them continued, the silence between them was palpable.

“I can give you the address where I'll be staying,” she offered, digging into her purse, “I'd love it if you could write to me.”

“I will,” Phil smiled, “And I'll give you mine.”

He tucked the paper into his wallet after admiring her handwriting. They finally, reluctantly, left with their separate friends. Phil was, of course, peppered with questions and teasing about the mystery girl. On the way back, they stopped into a store to grab some snacks. It wasn't until he got back to the dorm that Phil realized the paper had fallen out of his wallet.

* * *

 

The restaurant was fancier than he was used to, well out of his price range. Of course, that would hopefully be changing today. He was there for an interview and if he got the job, he'd have to get used to places like this. Part of his job would be schmoozing, business lunches, looking like he fit into a proper, upper class world. Phil looked around, wondering if he looked as out of place as he felt.

The atmosphere was pleasant enough. No one was gawking at him as he feared, everyone wrapped up in their own world. Many appeared to be there for the same reason he was, business. A woman in a suit approached his table. There was grey in her hair and there was nothing particularly striking about her, as if she had mastered blending in. Phil stood up and smiled at her as he realized that he had completely forgotten her name.

“Mr. Coulson?” she asked in a British accent, “I'm Peggy Carter.”

Phil hoped she didn't notice his relief, he simply stuck out her hand, “It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Carter.”

He pulled her chair out for her, as he'd been raised to, before realizing she may not appreciate it. She simply smiled at him and sat down, pulling her chair in herself before he had the chance. Phil sat down across from her.

“This is a lovely restaurant,” Phil said, looking at the menu and trying not to wonder how much everything had to cost. They didn't list the prices. That was never a good sign.

Ms. Carter nodded, “I haven't been in this part of the country for awhile, I'm glad it's still as I remembered.” She looked up, “The music is wonderful.”

Phil tilted his head slightly to listen. He hadn't noticed it before, and now realized she was right. It was a piano-only performance of a classical song he couldn't quite remember the name of.

“Their pianist is very skilled,” Ms. Carter said gently, glancing to the source of the music with a fond smile. Phil turned his head, prepared to agree with her, and froze when he saw who was playing the piano. He recognized her the moment he saw her, and he felt his heart speed up. She was wearing gloves, she noticed, and couldn't help but wonder if it was part of the uniform or her own preference. Reluctantly he turned away and smiled at his interviewer.

“Are you a music lover, Ms. Carter?”

The interview went well. Phil was more than able to put aside his feelings and focus on the matter at hand. At the end of the meal, Ms. Carter informed Phil that they wanted him to start his training in DC at the end of the week.

“Is there any problem with that?” She asked him, raising a pointed eyebrow at him.

Phil felt his heart sink, but finally shook his head, “No, I'm as committed to this position as I was when I applied.”

Phil managed to come up with a reasonable excuse to linger, and she gave him a sad smile when she left. After Ms. Carter was gone, Phil handed the waitress a note and asked her to give it to the pianist. The waitress gave him a suspicious look before glancing at the note. He had drawn their soul-mark on it, and she raised her eyebrows when she saw it.

“She's off in 15 minutes, I'll give it to her then,” she promised, “You can wait in the entry-way.”

Phil did, nerves playing with him. After what felt like an eternity, he heard someone clear their throat and turned around. Cadence was standing there, wearing a coat that covered her blouse and most of her skirt. She was still wearing the gloves.

“I lost your address on the way home.”

“I left mine in a coat that my friend borrowed- she threw it in the wash before I realized.”

They both smiled at each other. She reached a hand out to him and he shook it.

“I only just moved here, can you show me around?”

Phil smiled wistfully, “I'd love to, but I have to tell you that I'm moving at the end of the week.”

Cadence's face fell at that. She looked at the floor for a moment, “It seems we're destined to keep missing each other.”

“Fate... can be like that,” he agreed sadly. He gently placed a finger under her chin to lift her face up. “We can always make the best of the time we have.” She leaned over and kissed him when he said that. It was soft and short, and she took his hand and they walked out of the restaurant.

They ended up at a diner after Cadence lamented being being surrounded by such a fancy atmosphere all the time at work. They ordered dessert and the conversation came as easily as it had the first time. They caught up on what each had done since they'd seen each other, Cadence revealed that she was there for an internship and was working at the restaurant to help cover her expenses.

“There's something I need to tell you, that I probably should have told you when we first met,” Phil said gently. Cadence frowned at him, brows furrowing in confusion as he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the white under shirt. He slipped his shirt and jacket off just enough to reveal his own soul mark and watched as her eyes widened and she leaned across the table to touch it.

“Wh-why didn't you tell me?” she asked after she'd sat back down.

Phil began re-buttoning his shirt as he tried to think of the right thing to say. Eventually he sighed, “I know I should have- but I was afraid you'd give up the opportunities over this. We'd only just met, I wasn't sure how to tell you.”

Cadence watched him for a moment, one eyebrow raised. Gradually she sighed and smiled, “That's fair enough. Even now, I don't want to quit my internship to move with you- and I don't want you to give up this job, either, it sounds like it means a lot to you.”

“It does,” he agreed quietly.

“Fate really is cruel, isn't it?” Cadence asked with a sigh, placing her hand on the table. Phil reached over and threaded his fingers through hers, nodding. Cadence smiled at him, “At least we have this week.”

“And maybe this time, we'll actually be able to keep in touch,” he added with a grin. She laughed at that.

They finished their dessert, paid, left a generous tip, and then stood outside the diner for a long moment.

“I don't know if it's too forward,” Phil said, “But I'd like to invite you back to my apartment.”

“It _is_ quite forward,” Cadence replied, “But ask me anyways.”

* * *

 

They both fully intended to keep in touch, but again fate had other plans. When Phil reached DC for training, he finally learned the extent of his job. It was only then he found out that he was working for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division- something he had never even heard of. The address he had given Cadence turned out to be fake and the paper with her address somehow managed to get confiscated. 

Months later he learned that this was intentional, a test. By then he knew enough about the division and why it did what it did to understand. It still hurt, but he knew how to handle it.

He was never sure about whether or not to go looking for Cadence. He certainly could have, with the resources at his disposal, but his job kept him quite busy. Especially given who his charges became. First, the man who had literally run away to join the circus before falling into the wrong crowd and somehow winding up the only agent who still used a bow and arrow. Who eventually brought home the super spy he was assigned to take down. It wasn't even worth being surprised anymore when he was assigned to recruit the weapons manufacturer turned self-made superhero. 

Then he found out about the New Mexico mission, and something in his brain clicked.

“I'm doing this mission,” he told Fury, laying the file on his desk. 

Fury raised an eyebrow, “It's beneath you, I have plenty of lower level people to put on that case.”

“I'm doing this mission,” Phil repeated simply.

There was a long pause while Fury watched him. After Phil refused to stand down he sighed deeply, “You've given me good reason to trust you, Phil, I'll give you this.”

When Clint found out about the mission and that Phil had demanded it, he just frowned and asked, “Why?”

“I have no idea,” Phil replied with a soft smile.

Clint nodded, “Let's do it.”

In the end, it turned out to be a good thing Phil was there. None of them had any idea what they were dealing with, they certainly didn't expect the Destroyer. Another agent could probably have handled it, but Phil was one of the best. 

After all was said and done, he sat in a diner on his own. Repairs were under way and people were trying to get on with their lives, although there was now a nervous buzz in the air that small-town diners rarely had. Phil frowned into his coffee, trying to work out why this mission had meant so much. Perhaps he had realized it was more than it seemed and was going to call for his expertise, with enough time he had picked up that sense, but no one else had had that thought. 

He sipped his coffee, only just registering the jingle that meant the door had been opened. 

“I have to admit, I'm jealous that you're already moving out of here, I don't know how I'm going to feel safe anymore.” It was a male voice, from the location presumably from the person who had just come in. Unlikely to be a threat, then. 

“This could have happened anywhere.” Phil froze when he heard that. He knew that voice. It had changed slightly in the past few years, he could hear the weariness in it as well, but he knew that voice. He stood up a bit too abruptly, knocking the table and drawing everyone's attention. When his eyes met Cadence's, they just smiled at each other.

She turned to her friend, “I'll talk to you later, I have someone I need to catch up with.”

The man she was with looked Phil over and raised an eyebrow at her, “Is he--?”

Cadence just nodded before walking over to Phil. She gave him a sad smile, “Our paths always cross at the worst moments. I'm moving to New York in three days, I got a position at Carnegie Hall.”

Phil simply chuckled, taking one of her hands. “I live in New York.”

**Author's Note:**

> I think it's clear I had no idea how to summarize this story. I'm not sure if Cadence counts as an OC or not, to my knowledge she's not really officially a character, she doesn't even have her own name. I really like the idea behind this story, though, I consider it very bittersweet.


End file.
